Life of Meaning: Part 3
August 30, 2004Most days I find myself absorbing the news via National Public Radio
while mindlessly driving to and from work. I’ve had problems with
their coverage (or lack there of) of political events in the past, but
I was outright infuriated to hear a segment of All Things Considered
where the reporters wanted help in properly pronouncing “Abu
Ghraib”. On the one hand it’s great to be sensitive about proper
pronunciation of foreign terms, but the segment was at least 5 minutes
of each reporter and translator taking turns pronouncing “Abu Ghraib”
to the point of diminishing the now famous location of Iraqi prisoner abuse
at the hands of American soldiers to nothing more than a beginners
introduction to Arabic. To top it all off, the local station that
broadcasts the show chimed in at the end with the credits “brought to
you by Walmart”. What insanity! So let me recommend a few
stations where you’ll never hear the words “Walmart” and “Abu Graib” in
the same sentence, unless of course, the conglomerate decides to open
shop in Iraq.
KPFA : the oldest free speech station in the U.S. out of Berkeley (stream it)
San Francisco Liberation Radio
: Although recently shut down by the FCC, they have a lot of their
shows archived. I highly recommend a friends show: John Hell
